The present invention relates to reading data from tracks in a longitudinal tape-drive system, and more particularly, to using a best setting determined according to select tape operating parameters during error recovery procedure (ERP).
A tape drive is adapted to read and/or write data from/to a magnetic tape using a range of tape speeds which are preset in the tape drive (for example, one tape drive may operate at 14 different tape speeds). The error rate at each tape speed is potentially different for each tape cartridge and for each tape cartridge/drive combination. Typically, ERP performs a plurality of steps in trying to recover data that is not read properly the first time. However, these steps are typically performed in a predetermined order, which is applied the same regardless of the tape cartridge or the tape cartridge/drive combination. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have a tape drive system that is capable of adjusting the ERP according to a specific tape cartridge or tape cartridge/drive combination according to prior knowledge of the operating characteristics of the specific tape cartridge and/or tape cartridge/drive combination.